Leslie
by Midnight Dust
Summary: The girl was from somewhere, he knew. He just didn't know where. This is the story of Jack and Leslie, two children from the streets.  I just changed the summary because the story was not going where I wanted it to. Enjoy...
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any characters in this story except Leslie. She's mine =). Jack belongs to Disney, and so do all of the other newsies I incorporate in here.

* * *

At night, the streets of Manhattan were dark and menacing. He had been walking a long time. And yet, he was not afraid.

He felt untouchable, invincible. And then there was her. Lying in a cardboard box, her feet hanging out of it, her hair tumbling over the edge, he saw her.

She was asleep, yet he knew she would wake up easily. He knew this because, after years of living and sleeping on the streets, one was forced to learn to wake up easily. If you didn't hear something, it could be the end of everything.

As he walked by, something sparked in his mind. He _knew_ that hair. There was something about her that was different but so familiar. He shook his head and continued walking. He would probably never see her again.

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This is my first fic, so please be kind if you review (which would be greatly appreciated). I know it's super short, I'll try to make it better! Thanks~

~Midnight Dust


	2. Chapter 2

The girl had been running through his mind. Where was she from? And how did he know her? He knew he might never see her again, but he didn't care. He also knew that if he didn't find out who she was, he would go insane. So, that night, while the whole lodging house lay asleep, he crept out onto the fire escape. And, without one look back, found his way to the ground, disappearing into the night.

* * *

She woke to the never-ending rumbling of her stomach. The hunger was getting worse and worse. She could barely walk; much less defend herself on the streets. She knew that soon, there would be no evidence that she had ever existed. Her ears perked up as she heard footsteps. Footsteps were never good, she knew. She relaxed as she lay there, knowing that these might be her last moments on earth.

* * *

He turned the corner, and saw her. She was where she had been two days ago. She was still lying in the box, but he knew she had moved. He crept closer to her. Was she awake? Was she alive? As he peered over at her, he noticed that she looked like she was still sleeping, and thankfully breathing. He also noticed that she was still familiar, more so now because he could see her better. Again, his memory sparked. This _was_ going to drive him insane. And then her eyes shot open. He didn't even get a word out before she started speaking, quietly and calmly.

"If you do intend to kill me, please do it now. I can't stay like this. I can't move, which means I definitely can't defend myself. So go ahead. I won't stop you." She had given up; used her last ounce of energy to surrender. He wouldn't let her go down without a fight.

"I don't want to see you in pain, much less die. Come with me, and you'll be better." Her eyes feebly opened.

"Why do you expect me to believe you? How can I trust you?" And then his mind cleared, and he knew.

"Because, you trusted me before and I didn't let you down then. Please Leslie." She looked at him, a mixture of fear and confusion on her face. Then he saw the recognition and realization dawn on her.

"Jack?" When he heard her say that, he swept her up. As they walked away, he whispered in her ear.

"I'm not going to let you go."

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Hmmm... sorry for my sappiness. I have the story in my head, but I can't write it down. So for now, this is all there is. And now that I think about it, this could have easily just been one chapter. A long chapter. But my ideas don't flow that fast, my apologies. And again, sorry for my gushiness! Stay pretty~

~**Midnight Dust**

P.S. Reviews would be nice! =)


	3. Chapter 3

Leslie awoke to a cracked ceiling. She, being known to be a bit overdramatic, immediately started thinking the worse. _Oh no. I'm dead. I can't just be dead! I'm sixteen, for crying out loud! I can't just be sixteen and die! Wait a second. If I'm dead, why is there a ceiling? I thought there would be clouds or something. Well maybe they had it redone, or maybe they-_

She didn't get to finish her ramblings because, just at that second, Jack walked in.

"Oh, hey Leslie. Are you feeling okay?" He looked at her with worried, hazel eyes, the ones she remembered.

"What? Oh, um, yeah, I guess…" She was still a bit shaken from what she thought had been a near-death experience.

"Well, as long as you're sure." Leslie glared at Jack, making him chuckle.

_Man, it's still fun teasing her, even if she does look a little different. But at least she still has the same red hair and green eyes from, wow, already seven years ago. _

"If you must know, I was just pulled off the streets into, well, where ever this place is, for the first time in years. Excuse me if I'm a bit shaky." Jack ignored the latter of her speech.

"We're in the Newsboys Lodging House. And, by the way, the other boys will be here soon. I came back earlier to see if you were doing okay. That's my record time for selling papes." Jack puffed up like a peacock, clearly thinking this was a big deal.

"Um, Jack?"

"Yeah?"

"What are papes?"

"Oh." Jack grinned sheepishly. "They're what we newsies call newspapers." Leslie knew what newsies were. She saw them a lot, selling or just walking around.

"Alright. And Jack? Why did you help me last night?" Jack eyed Leslie.

"Are you telling me you don't remember?"

_*Flashback*_

"_Hurry up, Jack! You're such a slowpoke!" The nine-year-old ran ahead of Jack, laughing to herself. _

"_You take that back, Leslie Adams! And I can't, my hat keeps falling off!" Jack was busy chasing his hat. It was being blown around by the wind. _

"_Jack Kelly, don't make me use the f-word!" The boy of ten stopped chasing his hat momentarily. _

"_You wouldn't!" Leslie grinned wickedly. _

_"I would." __She stood on the tips of her toes, cupped both hands around her mouth, and screamed. "FRANCIS!" __Jack faked a gasp. _

_"You've really done it now!" He finally caught his hat, and while keeping one hand on his head to keep it from falling off, raced up the hill after her. _"_Come here, and face your doom!" Jack had his arms crossed over his chest, and was standing like he owned the place._

"_Oh really, my doom? And what would that be?" she raised an eyebrow at him._

"_You don't want to know." Jack grinned devilishly, but then the wind picked his hat off his head. _

"_Jack, tie it around your neck with my rope already." Leslie was getting exasperated with Jack and his hat-chasing. She held a rope in her hand. She always kept it in the pocket of her dress, just in case they got into a sticky situation. _

"_It's too long." Leave it to Jack to find something obviously wrong with it and blurt it out._

"_Would you like some cheese with that whine? Just cut it with your knife. I know you don't need this much, although, with that ego of yours, I know your head will be getting bigger. This will just have to do for now." __Jack pretended to be offended and ran up to her. _

_"Oh yeah? What eeego?" He drew out the first syllable. _

"_Oh, you know the one that's always getting you into trouble along with that big mouth of yours." Leslie hit him in the arm playfully. Jack went back to chasing his hat._

"_I never get into trouble. I'm Jack Kelly!" He said his name like it was Superman's. Leslie just rolled her eyes. Jack could be so full of it sometimes._

"_Hey Jack, guess what?" Leslie gestured for him to come over to her. He jumped and grabbed his hat. Having been successful, he wandered over to her, took the rope from her hands, cut it with his pocket knife, and tied both ends to his hat._

"_What?" Leslie looked both ways, her golden-red pigtails almost slapping her in the face. She was making a big deal about this. She had a tendency to do that. It was one of her many quirks, along with only walking barefoot. __Leslie laid both hands on his shoulders. She leaned in to his ear, paused, and whispered, _

_"Last one to the river is a rotten egg!" and pushed him onto the ground. Jack, who hadn't seen it coming, just lay on the ground in shock while Leslie took off towards the river. __Leslie was silently laughing to herself when Jack shot past her. "Hey!" she shrieked. Jack chuckled. She could be so funny when she was flustered. They both tagged a random tree. _

"_I won, as always," Jack declared. _

_"Oh, yeah, okay, sure…" Leslie was sure she had tagged the tree first. _

_"Tie?" Jack was the peacemaker out of the two of them. _

_"If that will make you feel better…" Leslie trailed off and offered her hand to Jack, who was sitting on the ground. __He took it and stood up. _

_"Shake on it?" Leslie decided that no harm could come from it. Her hand was almost in his grasp when he snatched his hand away, spit in it, and grasped her hand, all in one smooth motion. _

"_Oh, Jack Kelly, that is the vilest and most disgusting thing you have ever done!" Leslie's face was getting red. She was angry. _

_"Really?" Jack was finding this amusing and could barely stifle the laugh that was trying to burst between his lips. _

"_Really." She calmed at once and, grinning mischievously, walked over to Jack, and pushed him into the river. __Jack's head popped up from the water, his eyes bugging out. Leslie was laughing as hard as she ever had. _

_"Leslie!" _

"_Yes, Jack?" she answered between laughs._

"_Leslie, quit it, I'm serious!" Jack's head was bobbing in and out of the water. _

_"Are you, now?" Leslie was finding this hilarious. _

"_LESLIE! I can't swim!" Leslie slowly stopped laughing. _

_"What?" She was just coming to the realization of what her actions and hastiness had done._

"_You heard me! I can't swim!" He was gasping for oxygen, and she knew the water got deeper as it went downstream. _

"_Jack, grab onto my rope!" She was so glad she hadn't listened to her brother when he had said that ladies didn't carry ropes around. Jack's hand popped out of the water, searching for the rope. He found it and wrapped his hand tightly around it. Leslie pulled as hard as she ever had. __Jack, being a whole head taller than her, a year older, and a boy made it nearly impossible for her to pull him out. But because of the adrenaline rush she was having and the strength of pure will power, Leslie pulled him three feet out of the water and onto the grass. _

"_Jack, are you okay?" Leslie was staring at him, worried. He didn't like seeing her look at him like this. He sputtered and pulled himself up to a sitting position. He smiled and said, _

_"Never better." _

_She gasped and hugged him tightly. "Jack, I was so scared." _

"_Hey, don't beat yourself up. I'm okay now." He smiled at her, trying to reassure her._

"_Jack, I could have killed you!" He could see that she was shaken. __He hugged her again. The two best friends sat there for a few seconds until Leslie pulled away. _

"_Jack?"  
_

"_Yeah?"_

"_I wasn't going to let you go."_

"_I know, Leslie." He pulled her back into a hug._

_*End of Flashback*_

"That's what you said to me last night." said Leslie, realization dawning on her.

"Yeah, I did. It was true." Jack looked back up at her and gave her a smile that was soft, small, sad, and sweet all at the same time. Leslie stood up and walked over to Jack. She put her arms around him, pulling him into a hug, and whispered the only words that she thought were acceptable at the moment.

"Thank you."

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Yay for more dialogue and a longer chapter! And thank you to my two wonderful reviewers, **Firefly Conlon** and **Water vs. Fire**. Thanks so much, you guys are awesome. It means a lot that you actually read it. =) Okay, hopefully the next chapter won't take too long~

~**Midnight Dust**


	4. Chapter 4

Leslie and Jack had just been catching up on the past seven years when they heard chatter from the rest of the boys. Jack picked himself up off the bed and walked over to the door.

"So, are you ready to meet the rest of the guys?" Jack turned around and cocked an eyebrow at Leslie. He was wearing a smirk too, something Leslie was slowly getting used to. When they were kids, his face had always been sincere. Now she couldn't tell what he was thinking.

"Sure. I have to get it over sooner or later, right?" Leslie laughed nervously. The truth was that she wasn't as confident as she would have liked to be about meeting these boys. She had witnessed some of the fights that had happened between newsies, and they could be brutal. Leslie wasn't sure if that was how they always were or if it was just an instinct, but she was still uneasy about meeting them. They walked down the stairs, Leslie trailing behind Jack. The conversations of the newsies were getting louder and louder. They turned the corner and entered the main room. The volume significantly lowered, but talking did not cease altogether until Jack motioned for them to be silent. Leslie turned to Jack and raised an eyebrow.

_How the heck did he get them to listen to him? No one ever wanted to listen to Jack back then. How did this even happen?_

"Guys, this is Leslie. She's a friend of mine that, hopefully, will be staying for a while." He turned to Leslie and flashed a smile.

"I don't know, it'd be better than sleeping on the streets." A few of the newsies nodded their heads at this, silently agreeing with her. "So I guess I will, I mean, if you guys want me." The newsies looked at Jack, who nodded at them.

_Okay, what is with them getting Jack's opinion on things? _

"We'd be honored to have you Miss Leslie" spoke a short, Italian boy. His cabbie hat was tilted to the side of his head and he was holding a cigar in one hand. Without realizing it, Leslie wrinkled her nose. The boy noticed and looked down at his cigar. Almost wistfully, he handed his cigar to a younger boy and a whispered something in his ear. The boy nodded and ran outside. "I'm Racetrack, miss. I'm the handsome and charming one of the lot." Racetrack took her hand and kissed the top of it. "Call me Race." Leslie laughed at his introduction.

"Hi, I'm Leslie Adams." He nodded, grinned, and stepped back into the gaggle of boys. A tall, handsome boy with an eye patch walked up to Leslie.

"Hey, I'm Kid Blink. Call me Blink." Leslie smiled at him.

"Hi, I'm Leslie." He leaned over to her ear and whispered loud enough for Racetrack to hear,

"Don't listen to Race, he's a big talker. And the stuff about him being the most charming and handsome of us? Maybe in his dreams. Oh, and whatever you do, don't make a bet with him." Leslie tucked this piece of information into the back of her mind. She knew from experience that bets could be rough.

"I'll keep that in mind. Thanks Blink." Then a boy with soft, brown eyes, and curly, brown hair stepped up to her.

"I'm Mush." Leslie couldn't help but notice that his voice was as sweet as his eyes.

"Hi Mush. I'm Leslie." Leslie smiled boy was special, she knew. She also knew that the last thing she needed was to grow close with many people. Jack, she was already close enough to. She didn't know if she could risk more.

"So Leslie, are you going to be staying with us?" Mush looked at her inquiringly. Leslie looked at her surroundings and took note of her soon-to-be home; the cracked ceiling, the dirty floors, the aged furniture, and the clan of boys in front of her, looking anxious.

"Why not?" The boys smiled at her.

"Pleased to know you've taken a liking to us, Leslie," said a tall, serious boy. "I'm Skittery." He offered his arm to her. "So why don't we give you a tour of your new home?" Jack nodded his head in appreciation at Skittery. Then he turned towards Leslie, and with a grin plastered on his face, said,

"Welcome home, Leslie."

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Okay, so the boys aren't sounding like they did in the movie. I don't think I would be too good at writing their speech. I'd probably forget about it half way through. =) Silly me. So sorry about not updating sooner! I was on vacation, and then was way too busy to write more than a few sentences. So bravo to you for still reading it! The next chapter shouldn't take _too _long… hehehe… Oh! And reviews anyone? I know I don't deserve them, but they would be nice ~

~**Midnight Dust**


	5. Chapter 5

I promise I haven't forgotten about this story! I've just been so busy with so many things; I haven't had any time to write. Enjoy the fifth chapter of Leslie.

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"Okay, so this is what we call the multi-purpose room. It serves as a kitchen, a living room, a bedroom, and whatever else we need." Skittery pointed to the stove and sink. Next to them was a small table that looked like it was big enough for about four people. Leslie had no idea how they all ate there. _Do they have shifts, or what?_

"That's where we- meaning Snipeshooter and Dutchy- cook." Skittery's eyes lit up. "Hey, Leslie, would you happen to know how to-" Leslie cut him off.

"Sorry, Skitts, but the only food I ever cooked were s'mores when I was seven. And I burned those. Trust me; you do not want me to cook for you. Just ask Jack." Leslie laughed, and then stopped; realizing Skittery was looking at her with curiosity reflecting in every one of his features.

"Hey Leslie, how did you and Jack become such close friends? What's your story?" Leslie peered into his eyes. It was the most simply honest face she had seen in a long time.

"My story?"

"Yeah, you know, how did you end up in a dump like this?" Leslie looked at him. The boy tried- and failed- to backtrack. "No, I mean, it's great that Kloppman lets us stay here and all, it's just that the living conditions aren't the greatest and it's just really messy and there's like twenty boys in the room when we sleep and sometimes Race snores and drives the others and me insane." Leslie chuckled.

"Hey, don't beat yourself up, I get it." She was still laughing.

"It wasn't funny." Skittery's bottom lip was sticking out slightly and his eyebrows had pulled together into a frown.

"Don't pout, it's not attractive."

"I did not pout!"

"Yes, you did."

"Not really."

"Yeah, you kind of did."

"No."

"Yes."

"There's no way."

"Sorry to break your heart. You were pouting."

"Whatever."

Leslie whispered under her breath, "I win." Skittery took her wrist lightly and led her to the table in the kitchen. The boy pulled a chair out for her. Leslie, confused by all this, decided to go along with it. "Thanks." Skittery didn't respond, just sat down in his own chair. He faced her and held her gaze for an uncomfortable amount of time. "So…" Leslie tried to break the ice.

"You never answered my question. What's your story?" Skittery really wanted to learn about her past.

"Aren't some things personal?" Leslie was uncomfortable with this. Her past was nothing to be proud of, she supposed. It was definitely not the worst one to have though. She had had a best friend, an education, and a family.

"Everyone has a past," coaxed Skittery.

"Alright, I'll tell you." Leslie gave up.

"Finally! I thought I was going to have to stare at you longer." Leslie smirked.

"Is that necessarily a bad thing?" The faintest bit of pink appeared on Skittery's cheeks. But it wasn't him blushing though, because no newsie ever _blushes_. Leslie, seeing Skittery in an awkward situation, decided to save him. "Here, I'll start my story now."

"Okay, you do that." Skittery's face was back to normal coloring. _Here goes nothing._

"I was born Leslie Marie Adams in Albany, Kentucky on May 16, 1884 to Richard and Louisa Adams. I was the second oldest in a family of six. I had an older sister, Laura, and a younger brother, Christopher. My youngest sibling was a girl named Cynthia. My family had adopted her, so she didn't share the same features as us. Instead of straight red or blonde hair, she had curly, dark brown hair. Her hair wasn't a wild mess of curls either; it was in loose ringlets. Her hair was down to her shoulder blades. Cynthia had olive skin, unlike ours, and bright blue eyes, something none of us except Laura could call her own. She always looked curious and mischievous, like she knew something that you didn't. She was seven when we adopted her. Christopher had been nine, and Laura had been twelve. Cynthia would be thirteen today."

Leslie checked to make sure Skittery was still listening. His eyes had stayed glued to her face, watching and listening intently. She continued.

"When I was seven, I went to my first day of second grade." Leslie paused and chuckled. "I still remember what I was wearing. Picture a little girl with golden-red pigtails, a blue jumper, white stockings, and shiny black shoes. I was carrying a pencil in my hand. I had been skipping to school, when a boy came barreling from behind me and tackled me. I almost stabbed myself with the pencil, he was so heavy. He just seemed to fall out of the sky onto me. So there I was, seven years old, on my first day of second grade, with a huge boy lying on my back. I did the only thing any other kid would have done; I yelled. I asked him what on earth he thought he was doing and why he was doing it. He responded that some older kids had been chasing him and he had been trying to get away. He had been looking over his shoulder when he ran into me- it was completely by accident. He helped me up. I asked him what his name was because I had never seen him before. It turned out that he was new to Albany. He had just moved from Santa Fe, New Mexico."

Here, Skittery laughed.

"What?" asked Leslie, clearly irritated at having been interrupted from her story.

"Nothing, go ahead." Skittery was still smiling.

"Okay, but wipe that grin off your face," she scolded.

"Just go on." Leslie continued.

"The boy replied, of course, with the name Jack. From then on, Jack and I had been inseparable. That is, until I was eleven and he was twelve. He announced to me that he was hopping a train and running to New York City. I had cried that night. My pleading for him not to go hadn't worked. The next day, he was leaving Albany and my life. There was a void after that. My best friend had just up and left. So when I turned fourteen, I decided to follow his tracks. I had waited three years. I had saved money for three years. I couldn't wait any longer. On July 7, 1898, I reached New York City. Of course, when I had been in Albany, I had been so depressed over Jack that it hadn't occurred to me that I wouldn't be able to find him. But that's what happened. I was on my own for two years. I didn't have enough money to get back to Albany nor could I get a job. I settled for the comfort of a cardboard box filled with old newspapers. About a year ago, I saw Jack's picture in the papers. I tried to find him, but I had tried in vain. I could never see him. Then all of a sudden, I'm living with him and his thirty henchmen."

Leslie stopped talking when Skittery snorted. "What?" Had she missed something?

"His _henchmen_?" Skittery found this amusing.

"Well, yeah, you guys are always agreeing with him and doing what he says." Skittery full-out laughed.

"Why are you laughing?" Leslie was getting mad.

"Hey, cool it. We agree with him and do what he says because he's our _leader_. It's our _job_ to obey him." Skittery had calmed down a little, but then burst into another fit of laughter. "Come on, if Jack wasn't officially leader, do you think anyone would listen to him?"

"What was that, Skittery? Jack walked in from the other room.

"You know, Leslie, we probably still would listen to him because of his ability to inflict punishment on people." Jack glared at Skittery. "And because he is the supreme ruler of Manhattan who can sell 150 papes a day." Jack walked up to Skittery and slapped him on the back.

"That's what I want to hear." Jack grinned. "So Leslie, were you really overcome with sadness and pain when I was gone?" He added a dramatic flair to his sentence by laying the back of his hand on his forehead. Leslie gasped. _Has he been listening the whole time? They should really get more doors in this joint!_

"Jack that is _not_ how I talk! You should know better than to eavesdrop!" Jack held up his hands and backed up.

"Whoa, I didn't mean to offend you. You know, it wasn't fairy cakes and tea parties for me either." Jack pulled out a third chair and sat down. Together, they almost filled up the table.

"Oh, really?" Leslie cocked an eyebrow. "What about all your newsies? Aren't you their leader? Aren't they your family?"A pained look crossed Jack's face. Leslie immediately felt bad. _Geez, what did I do? He looks like he's going to throw up._

"Jack, are you okay? I'm sorry, that's not my business. Just please don't blow chunks on me." Jack grabbed the table. The skin on his knuckles was stretched so far that Leslie could see the bone underneath.

"Jack, relax." Skittery tried to get his leader to calm down. Jack slowly released the death grip he had on the table.

"Okay, I'm all right." Jack glanced up and saw two worried faces gazing at him. He held his hands up. "Hey, I said I was all right." Skittery and Leslie shared a look. "What, do you not believe me?"

"Oh, we believe you," Skittery replied unconvincingly. Leslie nodded eagerly.

"Definitely. So, what happened? Why did you go on a panic attack?"

"It wasn't a panic attack, Leslie. It was, I don't know… a defense mechanism? I'm not sure." Leslie looked worried again.

"Jack, what were you defending?"

"It's a long story."

"We have time. Right, Skittery?" The boy nodded. "Well you have it. Talk." Jack sighed.

"Okay." And Jack began.

* * *

Thanks for reading. And I am so sorry about the wait (if there was a wait. I don't know if anyone is reading.). So review! Gracias!

~**Midnight Dust**


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